Second Star to the Right
by Vintage Geek
Summary: After his dive off the roof, a six year old Joe has to move with his family to Dallas, Texas to get away from the rumors concerning the incident. As the MacMillans adjust to their new life, Mrs. MacMillan hires a Mrs. Susan Fairchild as an experienced caretaker for her hurting son. Maybe the next two years of bed rest will go differently for young Joe in this almost-schoolyard AU.


**Well ****_I'm _****psyched for season two. Is it just me or is Lee Pace on a roll? First the Hobbit, then this, and even tackling the Marvel movie: Guardians of the Galaxy. He had a nice career before then of course (Roy and Ned are unforgettable in my book) but this has certainly brought new fans. All the feels that have been building up since like episode three had to be released, so here we are.**

**Effectively this is a schoolyard AU, my first if you can believe it. Not your traditional schoolyard fic but I do hope this is passable, any character ideas you have are more than welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the AMC show Halt and Catch Fire**

**Warning: this is rated T for adult language and depiction of serious injury.**

_November 29, 1954_

The streets of Armonk, New York were flooded with snow. The fact that it had been snowing for an entire week did little to quell the working body of the small North Castle CPD and they had plodded through the pristine blanket until it was little more than a Yuletide ashtray. IBM headquarters rose above the frozen town like a glacier, its expansive glass walls reflecting the streetlights like stars on a glossy canvas. Joseph MacMillan, Joe to his friends and coworkers, sat at his desk with his head in his hands. Aside from the custodial staff, Joe was the only soul in the building this late at night and he liked it that way. For the last month Joe had been working almost eighty hours a week, some said it was because that man had _true _initiative and drive in the work place, others said he was in the dog house over some spat at the Christmas party, but only Joe MacMillan knew the real reason.

Both theories were right in a way, he did love his job; he enjoyed the glitz-n-glam of holding a high position at a large company like IBM. Joe also loved his wife; she was his star, his excitement, and the only proof he had that he possessed a personality. Lately however, her emotions were simply _too _much, even for the both of them. Mrs. MacMillan had begun to revisit old habits, talking with old friends, and on nights like this she drew their son with her into this insanity. He couldn't help it, his hands were shaking so bad he had to put the telephone on speaker.

"Sandra-_ Sandy_ listen to me, I need you to slow down." He said as calmly as his brain could allow.

"Joe it's bad, it's _really _bad. Shit, I'm afraid to even touch him!" Sandra seemed to be bordering on hysterics; her normally even, mellow tone was now piercing and raw. Each sentence was broken up by her haggard breathing as she ran around the front room, no doubt tangling herself in a web of phone cord.

"TELL ME-tell me what happened." Joe was trying not to raise his voice, he knew after six years of marriage that yelling back would only excite her more.

"We-we were watching a movie, he didn't want to go to sleep yet and I didn't mind," she made a choking sound as she tried to collect herself "he wanted to know where they were going, how they got to Neverland" Sandra began to whimper unintelligibly "and so I took him to our spot, t-to show him the star and he… he let go of my hand." Sandra had now calmed herself enough to talk clearly, although that didn't mean what she said made sense.

"How they got to Neverland… Sandra, honey I'm not understanding any of this." Joe swiped a hand acrosshis forehead. "Have you phoned the police, the hospital?"

"Y-yes, they said they're on their way. I'm really scared right now Joe, I don't know what to do with him." The line popped and hissed as Sandra grew quiet.

"… What is wrong with Joseph? Can I speak with him? Do you have him with you?" Joe was reaching his wit's end with this conversation, five minutes on the phone and he still knew nothing.

"He fell off the fucking roof! He landed really close to the fence but I don't know if he hit it… he's not crying… I don't-I don't know why he stopped crying." Sandra's voice rose back to its previous state. Joe could hear sirens over the line, _she must have left the door open _he thought absently. Suddenly the line went dead on him. It took Joe a moment to gather what had just happened. Slowly he stood up and gathered his things.

… _Two Months Later…_

"_Daddy!_" Donna squealed as her father scooped her into his arms. "_Daddy_ I'm gonna drop my ice cream!" she giggled.

"Well then, we better not let _that_ happen." Gary set her down gently, letting her run off to the kitchen. "So Susan, how'd it go at the clinic?"

"Too full, can you believe that? _Too many _volunteers this year," Susan laughed "I saw Loretta and Judy signed up, so maybe it's for the best." Susan had been trying to find a part time occupation for when Donna and Gary were off handling their schedules. Being the excitable woman she was, Susan couldn't spend a moment idly sitting around. She had begun searching for a volunteer position, or even a part time job, but nothing seemed to drift her way.

"You'll find something soon Darling, I'm sure of it." Gary said with a grin, though he may not understand his wife's need for a job, he did think it was good for her to focus on something bigger than cleaning the house.

"I will say this: a woman came in while I was there, her name was something hoity-toity, McLean or MacMillan I think. She was a frazzled young thing, looked like something was driving her up a wall. The nurse at the front desk didn't look surprised to see her, so she must be a 'regular' as bad as that sounds. She was asking if anyone had asked about some position," Susan paused, shooting her husband an appraising look "something about needing a nanny, so I spoke up."

"She wants you to watch her kids?" Gary asked, even more confused at this point. "Now Susan, you said you wanted this job-thing of yours to keep you out of the house, so to alleviate this you took a job to work at some _other _lady's house to tidy up and watch _her _kids?"

"Gary it's not like that! She only has one kid, a boy about Donna's age, they just moved from New York and their live-in nanny couldn't make the trip. She was looking for someone from the clinic because her boy needs some sort of special assistance." Susan knew this was the stress point, if Gary didn't feel comfortable with her decision then there was no way he'd let her take the job.

"Is he 'special' or something? Or did you even ask?" Gary stepped further into the room and crossed his arms, this wasn't going well.

"_Gary_ whether he is or isn't shouldn't matter," Susan scolded "but _no_, he isn't. Right before they moved there was an accident and he got hurt pretty badly, nothing crippling, but he needs an extra set of eyes on him while his father's at work." This was what had hooked Susan, her heart went out to the boy the second she saw how upset this had his mother. Her boy needed a caretaker and Mrs. MacMillan was making herself crazy looking. "I already worked something out with her; I said if my family feels up to it then I can. I would only be there Tuesday through Friday, and Donna has all her after school activities this year anyway. I'd be home right in time to pick her up and even start dinner."

"You sure got a lot done in one trip to the clinic." Gary mumbled to himself, quickly shooting an apologetic look at his frustrated wife. "I suppose if this is something you really want to do… but if this starts to wear you out I want you to tell me." He gave her a stern look as he pulled her to him.

Pecking a kiss on his cheek, Susan looked up at him with a smile "I promise, if I find out I'm babysitting a six year old sociopath I'll quit."

"You _better_." He laughed.

**I originally wanted to do this where it was Donna's family that moved, her father relocating to New York and her mother having to take the job to make up for the lack of funds. But this flowed better, and now I can include more of the cast :D and sorry, I know she's hinted at in season 1 but I had to improvise a mama for Joe, she's going to stick around a bit longer in this AU than she did in the canon, sorry if this messes with you.**

**Tell me your thoughts, the good, the bad, and the ugly.**


End file.
